The Old Ghost Road

It all started on an evening when we looked like this:

We attended the annual Mid-Winter Gala at the Solid Energy Center (the local fitness center) which held an auction to raise funds for the NZ Leukemia Society.  One of the items up for auction was a packaged trip to spend two nights mountain biking on the Old Ghost Road (OGR).  The OGR is an 85 km biking/hiking track that follows an old mining path in the mountains near Westport.  It is one of the jewels of the region and attracts hard-core mountain bikers from around NZ and around the world.

After a few glasses of wine, Dara and our friend Cate decided that we couldn’t pass up the chance to win this package which included a helicopter ride to the trail’s high point, accommodation for two nights and bike rental.  Cate volunteered to watch the kids and fiscal responsibility was left behind.  Dara bid high (and often) and we ended up with a trip that we had to squeeze in before our departure.

Only after we won the trip did they tell us that it was intended to be a “summer” trip when the cushy lodge at the end of the trail was open.  So, calls had to be made to see if the helicopter would fly and bikes could be rented in the winter months.  Fortunately, it all worked out for us to spend our second-to-last weekend in Westport up on the OGR.

Equipped with our fancy bikes and packs full of the essentials, we headed to the trailhead to meet our helicopter.  Fortunately the weather cooperated and we were off.

The chopper took us to Ghost Lake which was plucked down atop a giant piece of granite up above the clouds.

Jeremy actually biked the OGR in March when the clouds were low and visibility was next to nothing.

Big difference:

When we landed, we dropped off our packs and headed out along the ridge to check out Heaven’s Door and some of the highest points of the track before having a sunny picnic and snooze.

After a cozy night in the hut replete with a full moon rising over the mountains, we enjoyed a splendid sunrise…

…and began our steep descent from Ghost Lake along a razor back ridge before throwing our bikes over our shoulders to walk down a long set of narrow steps to drop 60m down into the bush.

Fifty kms of biking doesn’t seem like a lot, but going up and down along a gravelly path that sometimes devolved to mud puddles definitely kept us busy for the better part of the short winter day.  By the time we made it to the second hut, we were ready for some down time.  After a warm fire and a hot meal, we slept well and were ready for the final 20km the next morning.  Dara’s colleague Nina biked in to meet us and accompany us for the final stretch as we followed the Mokinui River valley back to our car and, eventually, our children.

All in all, it was a great final adventure to mark the end of our tenure in Westport.  Many thanks to Cate and her family for helping us make it happen.

Here’s the full set of photos.  Enjoy!